242 
Shed Feeding of Slieep. 
They had mangold-wurzel the last month ; and I think it would have 
been of advantage, had my turnip crops not failed or nearly so, if I couid 
have given 40 lbs. daily, instead of 20 lbs. I tried at one time crushed 
linseed for gruel instead of Indian corn, but with oil-cake it acted too 
much as an aperient. They had a lump of rock-salt in their manger to 
lick when they pleased, and I occasionally had their food sprinkled with 
common salt. 
Mr. C. Hillyard, in his valuable work on practical farming and graz- 
ing, says : — " Beasts should increase in the first month, 64 lbs. ; second 
month, 80 lbs. ; and the last fortnight, 48 lbs. ; in the ten weeks, 
192 lbs." Mine did more; I therefore presume they did well, but I 
confess I was rather disappointed at the effect of the sugar and wheat. 
Belmont, May 21, 1845. 
II. — Experiments on the Shed Feedinc/ of Sheep. By the Rev. 
A. HUXTABLE. 
To J. W. Childers, Esq., M.P. 
Dear Sir, — I beg at length to submit to you the details of my e.xperi- 
ments in shed feeding sheep, which were suggested by your own, as 
described in the early numbers of the Society's Journal. The parti- 
cular measures which I adopted were designed to remedy the serious 
inconvenience of foot-lameness in the sheep, which was found to arise 
from confining the animal to one small spot. 
Having observed that sheep in wet weather on our downs always 
select the most beaten roads for their bed, it occurred to me that not 
only when under sheds should they lie on boards, according to your own 
experiment, but also that the courts to which they have daily access 
whilst their houses are being cleaned should be covered, not with soft 
litter, but with hard chalk or sand, or other materials to form a solid 
bottom. My little yards attached to the sheds are floored with a sort 
of asphalt made of chalk beaten small, covered with gas-tar and sand. 
In constructing sheds for my sheep I have kept in view the strictest 
economy ; and I venture to send these minute details, which I hope will 
serve to prove that the protection of sheep from the inclemency of the 
weather is within the reach of every tenant farmer. Each of these sheds 
contains about 50 sheep. They are erected on a very simple plan: — A 
couple of fir poles, 12 feet long, are nailed together at the top ; their 
extremities, at a distance of 15 feet, are driven into the ground; another 
couple, 10 feet distant, are united with this, and held firm by a ridge- 
pole nailed into and lying between the tops of the fir poles. Side pieces 
are nailed parallel to the ridge-j)ole, and small hazel-wood is interlaced so 
as to suj)port the thatch, which a labourer ties on with tar-twine. The 
thatch in front and behind reaches to about 3 feet from the ground ; 
behind, a bank of turf is raised to meet the thatch ; the front is guarded 
by a hurdle, moveable at pleasure, to allow the sheep to go into the court, 
